I went to a faith school and I think that religion has no place in education

Ingraining homophobic ideas in kids is so fucked up


I was brought up a Christian. I was christened, I took my holy communion, I was confirmed and I went to both a Catholic primary and senior school. Despite Christianity playing such a central part of my upbringing, after attending two faith schools I can confidently say that I am an atheist.

I have never regularly attended church and when I was dragged there on a Sunday morning I would not go down without a fuss. Initially, I loathed church because it was boring – although an out of touch priest who was (in my eyes) slightly racist, didn’t help enthuse me.

Yet, it was the way I was taught in school that particularly shocked me when looking back. When I first joined in reception it was not an overly religious school yet the implementation of a new, younger and more religious headteacher brought about some disturbing changes.

In one assembly when I was in year three the headteacher announced that the word ‘gay’ was to be banned in all entirety. The word was often used as an insult between naive school children, not really understanding the true meaning of the word. However, it was clear to everyone that it was not just banned as an insult but as a word completely. Any mention of it and you would be in serious trouble – that was the message that filtered into the brains of around 80 children aged between four and eleven.

Aged seven I questioned nothing, much like rest of the innocent rule abiding pupils. It is clear now that this is horribly wrong. To teach children that the word ‘gay’ cannot be spoken under any circumstances shows a direct opposition to homosexuality. It is no secret that the Catholic church has been bigoted and hostile towards gay people and the LGBT community, but to see it ingrained in the education of a primary school in the 21st century is shocking.

Imagine if the Mormons outside the library were in charge of your education

My high school too was partial to its fair share of bigotry. In year 7 when schools up and down the country were preparing to celebrate and raise money for Comic Relief, my school banned taking part in it.

This was due solely to the fact that Comic Relief provided contraception to countries rife with HIV. We were banned from raising money for impoverished and malnourished people around the world. It wasn’t clear if this was a decision by the bureaucratic governors or the headteacher but either way it is, without a doubt, outrageous.

Measures were also taken to exclude any information about homosexual sex from our sex education classes at both schools. This all must have been very confusing for children at my school with same-sex parents and it provides us with no real information for people who perhaps felt confused in their sexuality. Apparently, pupils at other schools had been allowed to put a condom on a banana, we had no such fun.

A prominent teacher in the Religious Studies department was openly homophobic. Naturally, there were gay people in my high school and I’m sure in my primary school too. High school can be hostile enough for many people but to have to sit in a lesson with someone who thinks that your sexuality is a sin must be awful.

We go to school to learn but also to grow up and to begin to understand the world. When you see faith strewn through the curriculum, particularly the more radical aspects of it, it skews an individual’s understanding of the world somewhat. It can produce bigots and fresh discrimination.

I am in no place to comment on the experience of schools of other faiths however my experience of education leads me to think that Catholic schools are not a force for good in society. From being frowned at for not singing cult-like hymns loud enough to being obstructed from raising money to prevent AIDS in developing countries, it seems wrong to involve religion in the education system. Of course, there are more moderate schools around the country and this is more favourable, but I believe firmly that the school system should be secular.

School should not be a place of alienation or hate. It should welcome children whoever they are and promote equality. Indoctrinating children with religious bigotry is wrong.